Tour de Oregon

The Outdoor Program will be organizing a two-day, 100-mile bike tour along the Oregon coast next month

The Outdoor Program at the Academic Student Recreation Center will be organizing a two-day bike tour along scenic Oregon coast highway 101. The trip will cover around 40 to 50 miles every day and is open to all Portland State students, staff and faculty.

“The scenery along the Oregon coast is amazing,” community development senior and trip leader Dustin Abbott said. “And all beaches in Oregon are open for camping as long as they are not in a state park.”

The tour will pass through the tourist town of Canon Beach, which is home to the famous Haystack Rock. Just north of that, the trip will visit Ecola State Park where Lewis and Clark went on a search for a beached whale rumored to be in the area.

Further south, the bike tour will go through Oswald West State Park, named after Oregon governor Oswald West, who was instrumental in securing the beaches along the Oregon coast as public property.

The maximum number of participants for this trip is nine, excluding the four trip leaders. “There is still plenty of room, so you all should sign up,” Abbott said.

The fee for ASRC members is $100 while non-members will have to pay $200.

If a student is taking at least one credit during this term, he/she is automatically an ASRC member. The deadline for registration is noon on Feb. 23. All participants will have to attend a mandatory pre-trip meeting later that day at 6:30 p.m. where they will be briefed about the tour.

To support the bikers during their ride, there will be two vans that will follow during the day. The vans will carry the food and gear for the trip. All four trip leaders are CPR-AED and First Aid certified by the American Red Cross.

“In the event that a bike breaks down and is un-repairable or someone feels that they cannot complete the ride for that day, that person has the ability to ride along in one of the vans,” Abbott said.

The participants will be camping in a tent just outside Astoria on the first night and the trip leaders have reserved a yurt in a state park for the second night.

“In the event that it rains all day or the ride ends up being more difficult than anticipated, we will have a warm, dry and comfortable place to rest for the evening,” Abbot said.

The participants will need to have a bike with good variety of gears and their own clothing. Everything else will be provided by the tour or can be borrowed. Gear such as sleeping bags, rain gear and sleeping pads can be rented from the outdoor program at no additional cost.

Anyone who has access to a bike that is suitable for long road trips are encouraged to register.

“We generally encourage people of all abilities to sign up for just about all of our trips, especially this one,” Abbott said. “There are a couple of climbs on the trip, two of which are about 400 feet in elevation.”

The Outdoor Program has been around since the 1960s and they have been taking students and the general public into the outdoors on many different types of trips. They will be organizing another bike tour next term.

Prospective students can sign up for the trip either by calling the Outdoor Program at 503-725-5668 or by going to the ODP office at 505 SW Harrison St.